Tchaikovsky Trio: Heifetz, Rubinstein, Piatigorsky (part 1)Out of the hundreds and thousands of different classical recordings I have heard in my lifetime, I can safely say this is one of my favorites. Heifetz is the greatest violinist the world has ever known and this is one of his best recordings (if you don't believe me, just listen to variation #4). Part 1: First Movement

This, one of Tchaikovsky's best-loved vocal pieces, comes from his collection of six songs, Op. 6. The fact that it was composed to a Russian translation of its original German text by Goethe often obscures its membership in the large family of setting of the same poem, "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt" (Only he who knows loneliness). One of Mignon's songs from the novel Wilhelm Meister, this text inspired most of the Romantic lieder composers, most notably Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf, to compose some of their most memorable settings; the poem's sense of desolate yearning speaks to the very heart of Romanticism, and Tchaikovsky certainly owed allegiance to that aesthetic.

Tchaikovsky's setting makes use of a syncopated chordal accompaniment; the lack of rhythmic grounding and the chromatic nature of chosen harmonies the inner harmony voices conspire to highlight the restless, disquieted tone of Goethe's text.

Swan Lake Ballet Tchaikovsky Act 1 part 1Academical Orchestra St. Petersburg Conductur : W. Fedotov Choreography: Marius Petipa/Leonid Ivanov Ballet of the Kirov Theatre St. Petersburg Odette/Odile : Yelena Yevteyeva Siegfried : John Markovsky Rothbart : Makhmud Esambayev The Fool : Valery Panov The Prince´s Mother : Alla Kabarova Servant : Viktor Ryazanov Historical Recording from 1968 Screen Adaption : Konstantin Sergeyev Director : Appollinary Dudko The four-act ballet Swan Lake,based on a German fairy tale and with music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,was first produced in Moscow in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre with a choreography by Julius Reisinger and was a total failure.After Tchaikovsky´s death in 1893,a memorial to the composer presented the second act,succesfully recoreographed by Lev Ivanov.In 1895 a completely new version of the ballet,choreographed by Ivanov and Marius Petipa was staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and this time the ballet received the appreciation that it had rightfully deserved.The new choreography fulfilled the expectations of the Russian public as it added an element of "pressure" to the copmosition. This recording presents a "classical" staging of the ballet from 1968 which based on the Ivanov/Petipa choreography.This Russian screen version of Swan Lake is a colourful and magnificent version of one of the ballet classics of all time,performed by the world.famous Kirov ensemble.

Rachmaninoff - Vocalise For ViolinTitle : Sergei Rachmaninov, Vocalise (Songs (14), Op. 34: no 14)
From Wikipedia,Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14 is a song by Sergei Rachmaninoff, published in 1912 as the last of his Fourteen Songs, Opus 34. Written for voice (soprano or tenor) with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, but is sung using any one vowel (of the singer's choosing). It was dedicated to soprano Antonina Nezhdanova.
Although the original publication stipulates that the song may be sung by either soprano or tenor voice, it is usually chosen to be performed by a soprano. As with many classical vocal pieces, it is transcribed in a variety of keys, allowing the performer to choose a vocal range more suitable to their natural voice, so that artists who may not have the higher range of a soprano can nevertheless perform the song. When sung by a tenor, it is sung an octave lower than the same key when sung by a soprano.